On his new album, Walzer Revolution, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus Wien turn their attention to a selection of dances by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Josef Lanner and Johann Strauss the Elder himself, in order to give it a new interpretation in the spirit intended by the composers.

Harnoncourt, who more than any other conductor of our time represents a revolution in the way works are performed and in the reception of music, traces the line from the dances of Mozart to 19th-century dances that were profoundly characteristic of the society of that time.

Thanks to his typical practice of performing the works in a historical manner, he succeeds in making this dance music an authentic listening experience that is constantly denied to us by the usual modern orchestration. The purpose of the resulting album is not only to convey the true joy of listening but also to narrate music history.

“With his “waltz revolution”, Harnoncourt and his period CMW band throw down a gauntlet to the established Philharmonic professors, arguing for more transparent textures and a wider range of wind and brass colours than those available to modern orchestras...A delicious pair of discs.” Sunday Times, 18th March 2012

“Two CDs of pure joy, and full of fine scholarship as well...The performances are sinuous yet nuanced, the pacing just sedate enough to reveal fascinating detail and the revelations — Strauss’s Chain Bridge Waltz and an early version of the Radetzky March — startling and delightful.” The Times, 31st March 2012 *****

“The orchestra's period instruments (including 10 different types of trumpet) and Harnoncourt's distinctive use of rubato lend novelty to New Year's classics such as the Radetzky March. But it is Lanner's flourishes of the gothic, operatic and exotic that really catch the ear.” The Independent, 22nd April 2012

“This is fun! Instructive, too, as Nikolaus Harnoncourt once again strips away centuries of 'tradition' and goes back to basics...Harnoncourt and his players bring both 'rough trade' and many an insight into what makes this music tick...Harnoncourt plays it seriously and with respect while relishing its creative place in Viennese society and appreciating the music's balance between sophistication and amusement.” International Record Review, May 2012

“The collection succeeds, though, not just in pioneering period performances but also through imaginative programming...One way and another it's a collection that demands the attention of anyone who thinks he knows how Viennese music should sound.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

DVD and Blu-Ray will include a live version of the New Year’s Concert as well as bonus footage: A special tour through Vienna, guided by members of the Vienna Philharmonic plus 3 ballet bonus tracks.

Sony Classical is pleased to announce the release of the recording of one of the world’s most famous classical music events: the 2012 New Year’s Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic. Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons returns to direct the 2012 celebrations after his acclaimed debut in 2006. The live recording encompasses releases on CD, DVD and Blu-ray.

The annual New Year's Day Concert in the stunning Vienna Musikverein has been an exalted tradition for more than seven decades, and the resulting recordings with works from the Strauss dynasty and their contemporaries are among the classical market's most important releases. The concert will be broadcast on TV and radio to over 70 countries around the world with an estimate of more than 40 million viewers.

The programme traditionally revolves around waltzes and polkas by the Strauss family (Johann father and son as well as Josef and Eduard Strauss) whose music has enjoyed a recent resurgence due to the success of André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. In 2012 the programme is once again a skilful blend of well-known classics and six New Year’s Concert premieres. As always the concert is bound to end with two traditional encores – the famous waltz The Blue Danube and the Radetzky March.

“It is something quite special: a wonderful opportunity to listen to this music and get to know it. This atmosphere, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Golden Hall of the Musikverein – all that adds up to a long and wonderful tradition resulting in fantastic, very specific music.” Mariss Jansons

“There's nothing here that disappoints, and the stylishness of the performances can be taken for granted, if not by the musicians themselves...the recording is excellent in capturing a happy occasion.” International Record Review, May 2012

“Jansons brings his characteristic poise and elegance to bear on the ‘Strauss Family and Friends’ programme to scintillating effect...The programme is imaginatively planned, with fast-and-furious polkas acting as a palette-cleanser between the lush waltzes.” Katherine Cooper, Presto Classical, 16th January 2012

Sony Classical is pleased to announce the release of the recording of one of the world’s most famous classical music events: the 2012 New Year’s Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic. Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons returns to direct the 2012 celebrations after his acclaimed debut in 2006. The live recording encompasses releases on CD, DVD and Blu-ray.

The annual New Year's Day Concert in the stunning Vienna Musikverein has been an exalted tradition for more than seven decades, and the resulting recordings with works from the Strauss dynasty and their contemporaries are among the classical market's most important releases. The concert will be broadcast on TV and radio to over 70 countries around the world with an estimate of more than 40 million viewers.

The programme traditionally revolves around waltzes and polkas by the Strauss family (Johann father and son as well as Josef and Eduard Strauss) whose music has enjoyed a recent resurgence due to the success of André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. In 2012 the programme is once again a skilful blend of well-known classics and six New Year’s Concert premieres. As always the concert is bound to end with two traditional encores – the famous waltz The Blue Danube and the Radetzky March.

“It is something quite special: a wonderful opportunity to listen to this music and get to know it. This atmosphere, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Golden Hall of the Musikverein – all that adds up to a long and wonderful tradition resulting in fantastic, very specific music.” Mariss Jansons

“There's nothing here that disappoints, and the stylishness of the performances can be taken for granted, if not by the musicians themselves...the recording is excellent in capturing a happy occasion.” International Record Review, May 2012

“Jansons brings his characteristic poise and elegance to bear on the ‘Strauss Family and Friends’ programme to scintillating effect...The programme is imaginatively planned, with fast-and-furious polkas acting as a palette-cleanser between the lush waltzes.” Katherine Cooper, Presto Classical, 16th January 2012

Seen by millions on TV worldwide, the Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year's Concert from Vienna is the best-known classical event in the world

The 2011 concert will be conducted by Austrian-born Franz Welser-Möst - newly installed as the music director of the Vienna State Opera and a favourite with Viennese concertgoers

The New Year's Concert, presented in the glittering Musikverein, features a charming programme that offers perennial favourites alongside some intriguing Strauss premieres. The complete programme will be announced beginning of November

Seen by millions on TV worldwide, the Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year's Concert from Vienna is one of the best-known classical events in the world. - A perennial best-seller with 102,000 CDs and 45,000 DVDs sold in 2010.

The New Year's Concert, presented in the glittering Musikverein, features a charming programme that offers perennial favourites alongside some intriguing Strauss premieres. The complete programme will be announced beginning of November.

The 2011 concert will be conducted by Austrian-born Franz Welser-Möst - newly installed as the music director of the Vienna State Opera and a favourite with Viennese concertgoers.

This collection of classic marches takes us around the world and across the centuries, from Elizabethan England to Romantic Russia. The pieces range from John Williams’ Superman March to Eric Coates’ Dam Busters March and Strauss’ Radetzky March.

The New Year's Concert in Vienna has been a glorious tradition for over six decades. A best-selling classical event year on year, the concert has unique global appeal. It is broadcast on TV and radio to over 50 countries, and is viewed by tens of millions of people all over the world.

The 2009 New Year's Day Concert will be conducted by the Argentinean-Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim for the first time. From 1991-2006 Barenboim was the principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and since 1992 has been the General Music Director of the State Opera Unter den Linden in Berlin. Barenboim's debut with the Vienna Philharmonic took place in 1989, and he has since been a regular guest.

In 1999, Barenboim and the late Palestinian academic Edward Säid founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, in which young musicians from the Middle East and Israel perform together. Among the many awards Barenboim has received, was the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in Vienna in 2006. In September 2007 Barenboim was named as United Nations Peace Envoy.

The concert programme for 1st January 2009 will be the customary collection of Viennese delights, with six first time performances.

The first part of the concert is inspired by the conductor’s biography. For example, the waltz Märchen aus dem Orient (Tales from the Orient), alludes to a modern “fairy tale” – the founding of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a symbol of inter-cultural tolerance. Other first performances in the first half include J. Strauss II’s Schnellpost-Polka (Express Mail Polka) and J. Hellmesberger’s Valse Espagnole (Spanish Waltz).

The second part of the concert makes constant allusions to the life and work of Joseph Haydn, culminating with the final movement of Haydn’s Symphony No.45 - 'Farewell Symphony'. This is the first time a work by Haydn has featured in the New Year’s Concert programme, and it will launch a year of events marking the bicentenary of the death of this great Austrian composerwho died in Vienna in May 1809. Other first appearances in the second half of the concert include J. Strauss I's Zampa-Galopp and J. Strauss II’s Alexandrine's Polka.